With a wheelbarrow full of manure from under Sushi's cage, I figured perhaps I could add it to the end of the back garden where I had hoped to plant corn but never got to it. We have a new neighbor that moved in last week, and he seems to be very picky about his yard. Today he cut down the lilac bush, another shrub, and some of the hedge in the back. I was worried that if I just dumped fresh manure into the garden and left it, he may get upset with the smell. So what better excuse to till in fresh manure than new plants?
The greenhouse down the road happens to be clearance pricing everything, and has posted on their Facebook that they will be closed any day that hits 90-degrees (it's just too hot). With 90+ forecast for the next three days, I figured today would be a good time to swing by and take a peek at what was left for edible plants.
We brought home four Dusky Eggplant (hybrid), four Cauliflower (Snowy something, I forget what the label said), one Blue Hubbard Squash, one Butternut Squash, one Buttercup Squash, one Spaghetti Squash, one Acorn Squash, one Black Pearl Pepper, and one Sage (Golden? It has beautiful two colored leaves). All but the last two are now planted into the back garden at the end of the plot. The other two will be planted into pots so they can be brought indoors at the end of the summer. The greenhouse lady said the Black Pearl will continue to produce (extremely hot) peppers year round if kept indoors.
Some of the squash she gave to us for free because it had powdery mildew. I know last year our zucchini got powdery mildew and spread it to all of the other squash plants, causing mass leaf die-offs. I took them home and pulled off any leaves that looked damaged or discolored. They look scraggly now, but they will likely pull through. Grand total at the greenhouse: $10.50
I plan to take some of the new sage and some of the lemon thyme that we bought last time to use on the chicken tonight. It should be a fantastic meal.